Joint multinational force to kick off July 30

Monjola Sotubo 19:00 - 12 June 2015

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou, Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi, Chad's President Idriss Deby and Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari (L-R) pose during the presentation of the communique of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of The L...

The joint force against Boko Haram will be based in Ndjamena, the capital of Chad, but will be headed by a Nigerian.

A multinational force against Boko Haram consisting of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin Republic will begin operating from July 30.

The joint force will be based in Ndjamena, the capital of Chad, but will be headed by a Nigerian.

This was decided at a meeting between the leaders of the participating countries held on Thursday, June 11, 2015, in Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari insisted during the meeting that the force should be led by Nigerian throughout its existence as rotating the leadership, as earlier proposed, would hamper "the military capacity to sustain the push against the insurgents, who also have the uncanny ability to adapt and rejig their operational strategies.”

The posts of Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff in the force will be held by Chad and Cameroon respectively.